New 'garden district' to be planted in The Woodlands soon

Burton Speakman

Published 6:00 pm, Tuesday, November 16, 2004

The East Shore community is being designed to serve as the garden district of The Woodlands.

"As most major cities have their garden districts, The Woodlands will have East Shore," said Thomas D'Alesandro, president and CEO of The Woodlands Operating Company. East Shore encompasses the area in the middle of Woodlands Parkway, Grogan's Mill Road, The Woodlands Waterway and Lake Woodlands.

"Similar in character to Ansley Park near Atlanta, the Presidio near San Francisco, and West University in Houston, East Shore will emphasize classic American architectural styles, tree-lined boulevards, alleys, garden parks, ornamental lighting and a pedestrian-friendly ambiance," D'Alesandro said.

The community is on 260 acres, with 25-30 acres planned for commercial use, according to the TWOC plan.

East Shore is being developed by the architectural firm Cooper, Robertson and Partners of New York. Builders working with the community will be limited to design techniques that will work well with the firm's design, said Susan Vreeland-Wendt, director of marketing at TWOC.

TWOC sold the first section of land in East Shore to a developer Oct. 8. Hahnfeld Witmer Davis has contracted to purchase 2.47 acres in the community.

The company plans to construct 36 brownstones overlooking the planned East Shore Park, according to Virgil Yoakum, vice president of residential land sales for TWOC.

These homes will be called Park Place Brownstones and will be patterned after the Remington Brownstones located off Timberloch Place in Town Center, said HWD President Robert Davis. That group of townhomes sold out prior to the completion of its first units.

Park Place at East Shore will be a gated enclave with interior brick streets and access to The Waterway.

"The location offers the opportunity to take a scenic walk or bike ride along the waterfront of Lake Woodlands," Davis said.

Prices in the Park Place development will range from $400,000 to $550,000, Davis said.

Throughout the entire East Shore community, home prices are expected to range from $200,000 to more than $1 million, Vreeland-Wendt said.

The first homes in the community are expected to be available in spring 2006.

"East Shore is going to be different than anything that we have ever done," Vreeland-Wendt said. "It will be very different than anything else in The Woodlands."

The community will include a club specifically for the members of East Shore, she said. It will include several water activities to take advantage of the community's proximity to Lake Woodlands and The Woodlands Waterway.

"This will be a place where the open space is defined by the building and the landscape rather than the forest," D'Alesandro said. "It's a new look for The Woodlands and the next generation for Town Center."